Many of the arguments marshaled on both sides are legally dubious, and much of the language in question seems designed to placate uneasy Democrats and defend Barack Obama against the charge that he is extending the very “wartime footing” he has decried.

But this emphasis on particulars risks missing the forest for the trees. Read More »

The stunning weekend news that Islamic State extremists had beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya–hundreds of miles to the West of the battleground in Syria and Iraq where the U.S. has been bombing Islamic State outposts–underscores how difficult it will be for Congress to draw up a resolution that simultaneously authorizes military action against Islamic State while trying to limit it. Read More »

Private meetings that she’s held with various foreign-policy experts offer some hints as to how she might part ways with President Barack Obama when it comes to crises in Ukraine, Syria and other global trouble spots. Read More »

Just when you thought Islamic State could be no crueler, a United Nations report charges that the extremist group has buried children alive, crucified some and beheaded others.

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child also reported that Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has abducted and sold children as slaves, dispatched them as suicide bombers, and deployed them as human shields at sites vulnerable to U.S.-led airstrikes. Read More »

If there’s anyone left who still believes that the Middle East is incapable of offering up unpredictable surprises, they should consider the developments along the Israeli-Syrian border over the weekend.

The news that the Obama administration supports Russian efforts to convene negotiations between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and opposition forces is a stunning reminder of where U.S. policy on Syria has devolved. As happened with the Russian chemical weapons proposal of 2012, Vladimir Putin is once again rescuing U.S. Syria policy from itself. The Moscow talks are not likely to succeed. But the announcement reflects a growing view in Washington that Mr. Assad, while a huge part of the problem, may also now be part of the solution. Washington will not abandon President Barack Obama’s “Assad must go” trope. But the administration clearly is moving to accept that Mr. Assad isn’t going anywhere. And here’s why. Read More »

For the United States, that would be the equivalent of taking in more than 80 million refugees. And Lebanon is smaller than Connecticut.

Syria’s humanitarian disaster is one of the worst since World War II, but it’s often hard to grasp abstract numbers from afar–or how those numbers are straining the region. So I’ve framed the figures from the Middle East to what the numbers would be in the context of the U.S. population (323 million). Read More »

President Barack Obama may be entering the lame-duck phase on domestic policy, but 2015 could be a defining year for his foreign policy. He faces several urgent tasks, notably three in the Middle East.

1. A nuclear deal with Iran.

A deal would end 36 years of tension between Washington and Tehran that have played out across the Middle East, contributing to setbacks in U.S. policies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and beyond, as well as with the Palestinian Authority.

A deal would check a nuclear arms race in the world’s most volatile region, especially among the Persian Gulf sheikhdoms that feel most threatened by the Islamic Republic. Read More »

The U.S.-led coalition finished 2014 with a steadily expanding tempo of airstrikes against Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, according to the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve.

American and allied warplanes conducted more airstrikes in December than in any of the previous four months since airstrikes began in Iraq in August. In that time, the coalition planes have conducted more than 1,600 strikes. Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.